The End of it All
by kkanbara
Summary: Hunters stole my idea (kind of). Jerks.
1. 1: Out With the Old

**1: Out With the Old**

"Thanks so much for coming out, everyone; I hope to be back in Chicago soon!"

"Azuma, you rock!" his manager, Davis, said as he exhaustedly hobbled off stage. "That crowd loved you, and the new song you sung, 'Wait For You', will be your next single for sure!"

"Thanks guys," he replied. He wasn't in the mood to talk – Azuma was too tired. Being on a nation-wide tour takes a lot out of an 18-year-old. His short brown hair was sweaty, and his vocal chords were exhausted. He put on his brown American Eagle hoodie over a faded pink shirt and blue jeans. His gargantuan feet were almost bursting out of his ratty, black high-top Converses. "Back onto the bus?"

"Let's load'er up, we've gotta get all the way to Detroit by tomorrow!"

They started loading equipment. Azuma took two guitars onto the bus and set them down in the trunk. He went back to get another load of cables when something caught his eye.

"Hey, man," Azuma called. "This is private property. What are you doing back here?" An abnormally tall man loomed twenty feet away, and yet no one seemed to notice him. He wore a black fedora, complimenting a beige trench coat that stretched down to his black leather boots. His eyes were draped in shadow.

"Azuma Monuru?" a deep voice bellowed from the man.

"Yeah, what's it to ya?" He hesitated.

"Good," he said, revealing decaying teeth in a grotesque smile. Azuma grimaced.

And with that, he vanished. At Azuma's feet lay a pale device, about the size of a cell phone. It had four buttons on it – three white circular buttons on its face under a square screen and one rectangular strip on top. He didn't touch it.

"Did anyone else see that?" Azuma screamed; his exhaustion being nothing more than a memory.

"See what?" asked Davis.

"That man!" he exclaimed. "The huge hooded one, with the bad teeth! He was right there!"

"We heard ya talking to someone," joked the guitarist. "But didn't see any hooded man. You're hallucinating, kid – get on the bus."

"And pick up your cell phone," Davis scolded. "You'll need it." Azuma didn't know what this gadget was, but he did as instructed. He picked it up. The pale device slowly started to turn bright orange and the buttons black, as if Azuma's touch activated it. The small LED screen flickered, turned on, and read:

**Welcome Azuma**

The LED screen shone a blinding white light, and Azuma was knocked to the ground. After the light subsided, he stood up, astounded at what he saw.

He was still in the parking lot with the tour bus and everything, but it wasn't the same. In every direction, little cubes of material protruded from the surroundings. They were all sorts of cool colours – blue-green, yellow, green, etc. Vines and decay coated the bus and entwined themselves with the entrance to the venue. He looked towards the light red sky. Everyone was gone.

"Hello?" Azuma called reluctantly.

A crash came from the distance. Miles away over by a K-mart, a plume of smoke erupted. Azuma ran towards it.

What he found wasn't what he was expecting at all. Kneeling down in the K-mart parking lot in between all the vine-covered cars was a little creature Azuma had never seen before, only about as high as Azuma's hips. It was clutching its own arm; the orange fur that covered its entire body was matted and ruffled. The gauntlets it wore around its wrists held a fading orange light, akin to the emblem on its forehead.

"Are you okay?" Azuma asked it.

"H-human?" it stuttered. It could barely breathe.

"What's wrong?" I kept pressing. "How can I help?" Suddenly, another burst came from the building. Shattered glass flew everywhere and dissipated into a flurry of cubes. Another creature landed paws-first twenty feet away from them. This one was bigger and had wings.

"A human?" the new monster exclaimed. "What's a human doing in the DigiQuartz and why is he interfering, Coronamon?"

"I-I don't know," started Coronamon. "I'm just as surprised as you are, Gryphonmon. How did you get here?"

"I-I was trying to figure that out myself," Azuma stuttered. "My name's Azuma. I got sent here by this stupid thing." He held out the gadget, for both of them to see.

"That's – ugh," Coronamon stammered. He winced in pain and fell to the floor. Gryphonmon charged.

"Hey - don't touch him!" Azuma didn't know what he was doing, but he shouted and ran in between the two of them. That's when the device in his hand shone a blinding orange light.

"Coronamon!" Azuma shouted as he held his hand over the green strip on the top of the device. His hands felt like they were on fire; he felt like they were controlling themselves. The light emanating from the device concentrated itself on Coronamon. The light's power was so strong and hot that it pushed Gryphonmon away, and stood Coronamon up.

"Human," Coronamon muttered. "What's happening to me?"

Then, Coronamon started to change shape. The light from the device encased Coronamon's small humanoid body, and seemed to make it grow. Coronamon spread its enormous golden wings to shake away the remainder of the light still emanating from the monster, revealing the orange feathers coating its body. The emblem that Coronamon held proudly on its forehead shone even brighter on this new body.

"Human, what have you done?" Coronamon asked. "You've triggered Evolution!"

"Hmph, so what? As if I'd go down without a fight!" Gryphonmon howled. Coronamon was now twice the size of Gryphonmon. Azuma sighed in relief.

Then, the two monsters fought; they matched each other paw for paw and blow for blow. Azuma noticed the cars in the parking lot before the intense fighting started were no longer there, but the fight was too intense. Eventually, Gryphonmon hit the ground.

"Urk," Gryphonmon spat out. "How dare you side with a human. I'll retreat for now and tell the master what the Rebellion's new player is." As he finished speaking, Gryphonmon vanished into thin air just as Coronamon reverted normal size.

"What are you?" Azuma asked Coronamon.

"I'm a Digimon," he replied, proudly.

"A Digi-what?" asked a confused Azuma.

"This Digital plane of existence we're in now is a side-product of your own world; the discarded data from your communications networks piles up here and mimics your own world. So much so that it produces the same landforms that are in your world, right down to the things that live in it. In order to exist here, your body is composed of data cells. What you just saw was a process called Evolution – a process that temporarily grants the user transformation into its future self. I've only heard about that process in legends - I didn't think it was actually real," explained Coronamon.

"Does that make us a team or something?" Azuma asked again.

"Guess so," said the monster. Azuma's mind was still reeling. Why was he given this small device in the first place? He picked it up out of his pocket and examined it again, running his fingers across the pale skin. It was strange how a device that small could cause such a huge change. What was the Evolution process? Azuma looked around at the now empty parking lot. Every single car was gone.

"Anyways, do you have a place to stay? Do you want to sleep at my place?" asked Coronamon.

_Better than a tour bus bed, _Azuma thought. Coronamon led him further away from the familiar tour bus and parking lot. They ducked under rotten trees and weaved through eroded buildings; all swarmed with the same neon cubes as before. The city was dark. Azuma looked up for the first time and gasped. Above them in the light red sky, sheets of metalloid material floated alongside small grey clouds.

"Won't those fall on us?" Azuma screamed to Coronamon.

Coronamon laughed. "They've been floating there for ages. It's just spare data that comes from your world and isn't needed right now. When it's needed, it gets used. But for now, it just floats there."

After a lot of crawling and ducking, Coronamon stopped in front of a tree trunk.

"Here we are," Coronamon sighed happily. He stepped right through the tree trunk, much to Azuma's disbelief.

"Where'd you go, Coronamon?" Azuma screamed.

"Just do what I did!" Coronamon seemed to call from within the tree trunk. Azuma hesitated, and then followed. He gasped in astonishment at what he saw. The tree was five times the size on the inside.

"Digital projections," hollered Coronamon, who seemed to be compiling leaves adjacent to another pile. "I learned how to manipulate the data around the outside this place, to make it look like just an ordinary tree. Oh, and this is where you'll sleep." He pointed to the pile of leaves he'd just assembled. All that stood in this room were these two piles of leaves. It was an empty home, but a home at that.

Azuma was wrong, definitely not better than a tour bus bed. Nonetheless, the two of them said their goodnights. Although Azuma didn't know what time it was, he tried to sleep. The image of the man from earlier kept popping up into his mind. How could he have gone from being a normal teenage earth boy to this crazy place? Was he meant to be here? How could he ever get home? He stared at all of the neon cubes littered about as his eyes started to droop lower. The last thing in he could remember thinking about that night was how Coronamon's fiery tail didn't ignite the bed of leaves he was sleeping on.


	2. 2: Jaded

**2:**

Azuma woke with a start. He half expected to hear the wheels of the bus turning and to feel the steady roll of pavement under his cot, but he was mistaken. Instead, he heard a knock around the exterior of the home and felt anxiety wash over him. The image of last night's trench coated man immediately found its way back into Azuma's mind.

"Buddy," Azuma whispered. "Hey, Coronamon."

"Mmmm what is it?"

"There's someone outside." Another hard pound came.

"Shit!" Coronamon leapt to his feet and ran to the perimeter of the room. He peered intensely at the wall. "Are you expecting anyone? This guy looks awfully… big…"

Azuma gulped. Could it be the same mysterious man?

"My patience is wearing thin," a voice whispered in from outside.

Fuck.

"Open up," Azuma whispered loudly. "We could be in for it if you don't."

"We're 'in for it' if I do!" Shouted Coronamon as he threw all of his body weight to the wall. As he vanished, Azuma heard a scream of terror. Azuma quickly followed suit, clutching the device for dear life.

"Let me go, you big oaf!" Coronamon screamed through a muffled mouth. His fangs and claws weren't any use against the thick trench coat of the familiar figure.

"Azuma," cackled the figure. "There you are!" He pulled off his fedora to reveal a monkeyish face in a wide grin. A smokescreen jetted out from under the trench coat, and a small monkey was standing where the figure had been. This monkey stood straighter than Azuma and was clad in monkish armour. A narrow hat garnished the top of his football-shaped head. "Right, now! Makuramon, at your service."

Azuma couldn't do anything but blink. His chaser had been a monkey all along. Short-lived relief flooded over him.

"Wait, who are you?" ask Azuma. "Why did you bring me here? How do you know me? What do you want with me? How do I go home?" Questions swam through his brain faster than he could process what was coming out of his mouth.

"Shh," hushed Makuramon. "Come with me and everything will be explained."

Azuma figured he didn't have much of a choice. He exchanged skeptic looks with Coronamon, but they decided it would be better to follow Makuramon. Makuramon turned and walked away, ushering the pair to follow. After a few minutes of digital acrobatics around rubble and neon cubes, Makuramon stopped in a clearing.

"Blink," he commanded.

"What?" Said the duo in unison.

"I said blink. Blink, and don't open your eyes until I say so." Not daring to take their eyes off the mysterious monkey, they nodded reluctantly. Both of them stared into Makuramon's eyes, ready for the cue.

"Alright, here we go – on three. One… two… three!" Azuma clasped his eyes close together as tight as he could as he felt a gust of wind kindle at his feet.

"Open," said Makuramon. Azuma opened his eyes. Makuramon and Coronamon were there, but the two of them were the only things he recognized. Azuma looked around and noticed the jade-stone walls, covered in oriental characters drawn in circles periodically. He looked for a ceiling but the walls climbed higher than the eye could see. In the middle of the otherwise empty room across the black marble floor, stood an ornate gold fountain that spouted a steady stream of neon data cubes. "Do you like it here?"

"Well yeah it's kinda cool and stuff," Coronamon spoke hesitantly, his paws squeaking on the pristine marble as he walked around. "But now what? Why are we here?"

"Master's orders," shrugged Makuramon. "I guess he wants to meet the two of you."

"Why?" asked Azuma. "What does he want with me? Why am I here? I've got a show to play in 6 hours."

"I'm not sure why he specifically asked for you," Makuramon answered honestly. "But let me tell you, those Gates were tough on the body! Making the Gate round trip to your world is something I'm not ready for for a while. I would've been happy to take you with me, but I had to depart swiftly as I didn't want all the other earth dwellers to see me. That's why we got separated, and I could only find you today. Good thing you had your Digivice to protect you and track you for us."

"So that's what this is called..." Azuma picked up the Digivice from his pocket. "It can do other stuff? All I've seen it do is make Coronamon transform."

"Evolve, actually," Makuramon put on a condescending tone. He started at the pale device in Azuma's hand curiously. "Here, let me take that from you for a second." Makuramon held the device, pressed a button or two that Azuma didn't see, and the Digivice turned a bright shade of orange, much like Coronamon's fur. And as if a hidden hand were tracing, black outlines began to swim across the skin of the Digivice.

"Do Digivices normally do that?" Coronamon asked in amazement.

"Yeah," Makuramon said. "I guess yours just used up too much energy when it opened the Gate to be bothered with the personalizing. It takes immense power to do that - nearly impossible without the Sovereign help." And just on cue, a plume of pale blue smoke erupted from the tip of the centrepiece fountain. The plume grew and expanded, grabbing the attention of all three of them. The smoke made its way to form a sphere directly on top of the fountain.

Lightning struck inside the sphere. Thunder followed close behind.

"What the..." Coronamon's exclamation was barely audible.

Azuma looked closely at the sphere. He wasn't entirely sure but he thought he could see the silhouette of a tiger approaching. Lightning again, thunder again. The silhouette grew steadily, until it almost covered the sphere. It looked like this tiger was running to something. Running to meet them? Lightning again, bigger than any previous strike. Azuma shielded his eyes from the intensity. He looked up at the sphere just in time to see a giant white tiger leap out of the side of the sphere of pale blue smoke. The tiger monster skidded to a halt along the clean marble floor, letting the smoke slowly fade off and drain back into the fountain. This white tiger, double Azuma's 5'10'' height, towered over. The purple stripes glistened with the reflection of the data cubes. The purple paw pads the monster wore on the front looked like they could be eaten off of, and each of his 3 claws per paw spanned Azuma's head. 12 yellow orbs circuited his torso and emanated a vivacious energy - they seemed to set this Digimon apart from the others Azuma had seen before. The Digimon's face mask shielded its nuzzle and four bright red eyes, staring straight at Azuma. Azuma thought he saw what looked like a smug grin, through 2 sets of razor fangs.

"I've been expecting you," boomed the newly arrived. "My name is Baihumon - the White Tiger of the West. I'm glad you made it here safely and promptly, Azuma. And I see you've made a friend."

"C-C-C-Coronamon, your loveliness," stuttered Coronamon.

"I presume you've heard of me then," chuckled Baihumon. "Coronamon and Azuma, I'm glad you've found each other. I haven't seen compatibility potential this strong in years." The word 'potential' resonated especially in Azuma's ears, but he tucked it away. He had questions to ask.

"So, why me?" Azuma inquired. "Why am I here? Do I have some sort of purpose? Are there other humans like me here? With Digi...vices?"

"Good question," said Bauhimon. "I won't answer that. Let's let them answer." Baihumon glanced over to the far wall. As if his gaze was the trigger, a door appeared in the jade stone wall opposite them. One by one, 7 young boys filed from overwhelming whiteness into the room and lined up facing Azuma and company.

"Hey dude," said the first boy in line. He wore a blue and yellow collared shirt with orange stars on the sleeves. Brown cargo shorts and runners covered his legs, while white fitted gloves had a tight grip on his hands. He wore goggles on his forehead above his brown eyes, and a hairdo to put all others to shame.

"My name is Taichi. Welcome to the Rebellion."


End file.
